As illustrated, for example, in Lazaro, U.S. Pat. No. 3,421,993, as well as U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,286, electroplating barrels are well known for use in the electroplating of small objects. The typical electroplating barrel has a perforated wall and is immersed in electrolyte solution while containing objects to be electroplated. The barrel is then rotated so that the objects tumble within the barrel while submerged in the electrolyte solution and then an electrical potential is placed across the electrolyte solution in a conventional manner to cause electroplating of the objects to take place.
Processes of this type can require separate steps for loading and unloading parts from the electroplating barrel. Also, at various times, some barrels have devices for redistributing loads or they have to be stopped in order to redistribute the load being electroplated so that a better "spread" is achieved in order to obtain better electrical deposition of the electrolyte.
As previously mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,286, the plating of small parts where the parts are not located with a good spread, or for instance, are stuck in a door, the parts will not become properly coated. Thus, where one or more clients can raise a significant suspicion that the entire lot of parts to be plated are not plated, the client or purchaser rejects the entire lot as being defectively plated.
Ideally, having an automatic reloading barrel which does not have a door that has to open and close, can eliminate the disadvantages of a door in that starting and stopping to undo the door during loading and unloading certainly takes time off the assembly line. However, unless the parts to be electroplated are distributed throughout the barrel with a good spread, the barrel still needs to be stopped in order to redistribute the load. Where the barrel has not been constructed in such a way that the load of parts is automatically distributed and redistributed throughout the barrel, an even deposition of electrolyte cannot be made without having to stop the barrel.
In accordance with the invention, an improvement in the design of a plating barrel, as well as a new process for plating parts in a plating barrel is provided wherein a doorless barrel, having novel deflector means extending from both of the ends of the barrel creates an improved process whereupon when the barrel is rotated, the parts to be plated are caused to be moved inwardly from the ends of the barrel to near to center of the barrel and gradually redistributed upon further revolutions of the barrel so that the parts move through various zones of the barrel. The moving parts enhance the deposition of electrolyte by having the parts or load directed from the outside to the center and then back again in repetition gradually back to the outside so that the entire load or entire group of parts is caused to come in contact or in close proximity to the cathode points to achieve a more even and uniform plating by having substantially the same amount of electrical charge on the electrolyte.